


Upgrades

by reeby10



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: First Kiss, Getting Together, M/M, Mistaken for Being in a Relationship, Post-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-12
Updated: 2015-02-12
Packaged: 2018-03-12 02:06:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3339659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reeby10/pseuds/reeby10
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On Earth leave, people keep mistaking John and Rodney for a couple. John doesn't really mind, but it seems Rodney's not too happy about it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Upgrades

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [Romancing McShep 2015](http://romancingmcshep.livejournal.com/) prompt #8 "On earthleave, people keep mistaking (still friends) John and Rodney for a couple."
> 
> I'd meant for this to be a sort of 5 times people thought John and Rondey were a couple and 1 time they were, but it ended up more like a 3+1. Oh well. And it probably doesn't make much if any difference to the story, but in my head this takes place post-series with Atlantis back in Pegasus and Rodney long broken up with Jennifer.
> 
> Thanks to YaoiSakka for the beta.

The first time it happened was also the first time they managed to leave base for more than a few minutes for necessary errands. John convinced Rodney that their first stop should be lunch at a local diner since there wasn’t much of that sort of thing to be had in Pegasus, and Rodney didn’t really argue. It wasn’t like he ever turned down a chance at food.

The diner they picked was one they’d both been before, but years ago. It was familiar in the same way Earth was now, a passing memory of times gone by but no real connection. Somehow, that made it more like an adventure, the good kind where there weren’t any angry natives shooting at them while they hauled ass back to the gate. But after two straight days of reports, they needed a little nice and boring. They’d be back to running for their lives soon enough anyway.

They talked as they ate their burgers and fries, though most of the time was spent staring out at the street outside the window or around at the other people in the restaurant. It was bizarre to be surrounded by so many people again.

When they were finished eating, John thought they would pay and leave, but Rodney just shook his head and waved over the waitress to order an ice cream sundae. John raised his eyebrows, but Rodney ignored him like he usually did and went off about some new experiment they were doing at Cheyenne that was doomed to fail.

A few minutes later, the waitress interrupted the rant by placing a huge ice cream sundae in the middle of the table, a spoon sticking out of either end. The both looked at it in confusion, then up at their smiling waitress.

“Uh, this isn’t what I ordered,” Rodney said slowly, brows furrowed.

The waitress didn’t seem bothered by his tone and just smiled wider. “On the house for the cute couple,” she said, giving him a wink and then walking away before either of them could think of a reply.

“Well, that was weird,” John said after a moment. He looked at Rodney, who just shrugged. “That was weird, right?”

“Who cares?” Rodney replied, already reaching for a spoon. “More ice cream for me. And I guess you can have some too.”

John laughed, but grabbed the other spoon. “Thanks, Rodney, I appreciate it.”

***

The second time it happened was only a few days later when they’ve gone to Canada to see Jeannie and her family. Rodney hadn’t even planned to go since they were only on Earth for two weeks and he had other things he said he needed to do, but John knew better.

Rodney and Jeannie got on better than they had in years, but there was still a lot of tension and awkwardness there and Rodney tried to avoid that kind of thing as much as possible. He tried to argue that his plans to read the physics journals that had piled up and download all the movies and tv shows that had come out since his last time on Earth that he could get his hands on were more important than going to see Jeanie for a few probably uncomfortable days.

But John knew that with the life they led on Atlantis, it was important to connect with your family when you could. It actually didn’t take much nagging before Rodney agreed to go, though that probably had a lot to do with the agreement that John would go along as emotional support and Madison was old enough to get some not-necessarily-approved scientific goodies that she could use to harass her father. Apparently that was a big plus in Rodney’s books.

It all went pretty well in John’s opinion, though Rodney of course didn’t really feel the same. There hadn’t been any shouting at least, and Madison seemed pleased with the strange glowing orb Rodney slipped her while Jeannie wasn’t looking. Rodney’d even been able to curtail his sarcasm and rants to a reasonable degree.

The third day they even managed to beg off the vegetarian dinner Kaleb made and headed out to a nice local restaurant by themselves where they could get steaks. That was preferable to both of them since good food like that was pretty rare on Atlantis and eating in the mess just didn’t have the same kind of atmosphere.

It wasn’t a nice enough restaurant to warrant a reservation or a suit, but thankfully it wasn’t too crowded on a Thursday and they only had to wait a few minutes before the hostess was leading them to a table in the back, chatting away as she went.

The table she led them to was wedged in the corner by a rose bush, mostly blocking the rest of the restaurant from view and creating a close, intimate atmosphere. There were candles on the table and a bunch of roses in a beautiful vase in the center. It was pretty much the romantic little table setup John had ever seen.

“We, uh, really don’t need this table,” he said, scratching uncomfortably at the back of his head. “The tables in the main part are fine, really.”

“Oh, don’t be silly,” the hostess said, smiling widely. “We like to make sure couples get the best experience possible when they come here for date night and it’s obvious you two have been together a long time. You deserve it!”

Rodney opened his mouth, though John wasn’t really sure what he was going to say, but with a quick, “Your waiter will be with you in a moment,” she was gone, leaving them standing awkwardly beside the table.

“So,” John said after a moment of silence, “that happened. Should we sit?”

“Might as well,” Rodney replied with a huff, a line of confusion drawn between his eyebrows. “At least we can get food. Even if our table is covered with tiny little fire hazards.”

John just laughed and sat.

***

The third time it happened was while they were visiting John’s family. That was definitely not something John had planned to do ever again, but Rodney had worn him down with the argument that if he had to visit his family, then John did too. It wasn’t remotely the same thing in John’s opinion, but Rodney was stubborn and in the end he hadn’t really had a choice in the matter since Rodney went ahead and booked them both flights.

The trip went just as well as John expected, which was to say it was awful and they spent the whole first day gritting their teeth and making vague explanations about where they worked. It was a little childish, but John felt a sense of smugness that apparently his family was making Rodney just as miserable as he was.

They’d planned to stay in two of the many extra rooms at the house, but with the way Dave’s wife and Nancy were glaring at them every time they sat near each other and the way John could almost see Rodney’s tolerance unravelling in the face of abundant bigotry, he made the executive decision to get them a hotel for the night and fake an emergency to fly back to Colorado in the morning.

A quick call got them a double room at a local hotel, hopefully fancy enough to cool Rodney’s blood pressure with booze and food. Dave didn’t seem surprised that they weren’t staying the night, though he’d been pretty apathetic through the whole visit. It grated on John’s nerves that his brother couldn’t even muster up a little fake enthusiasm, but that was probably for the best. At the very least it would make not showing up for brunch the next day a lot easier.

Rodney complained the entire drive to the hotel, but John hadn’t expected anything less. He just sat back and drove a little faster, enjoying the way fast turns made Rodney squeak a little in the middle of a rant. Soon they’d be back to spaceships, and as great as those were, he wanted to take advantage of being able to feel the force as he sped down a highway in a nice rental car.

They made it to the hotel in record time, letting the valet park the car as they carried their bags up to the front desk. The lobby was just as fancy as John had expected, all white marble and dark wood with gold accents. Rodney grumbled about the extravagance, but John could tell he was pleased since it would mean a nice bed at least.

“I have a reservation for a double room for tonight,” he said as they approached the desk, giving the girl behind it a polite smile. “Under the name John Sheppard.”

“One moment please,” she replied, eyes darting between him and Rodney as she smiling brightly. She typed at her computer for a few moments, then waved over a nearby manager.

John frowned a little as the two whispered, clicking around the screen as they did so. “Is there something wrong?” he asked, clearing his throat. Rodney harumphed in the background, but John ignored him.

“Oh no, nothing like that,” the manager assured him, smiling blandly. “You’ve just been upgraded, compliments of the hotel. I’ll let Carol finish up, you two have a wonderful stay.”

“Uh, thanks,” John said slowly, still frowning a little. He wasn’t on Earth nearly enough to justify a hotel upgrade, especially when he tended to spend most of his time on base or at Rodney’s apartment.

He handed over his credit card when prompted and soon the two of them were headed up to their room, bags held by the smiling bell hop. Their upgraded room was one of only four on the top floor, complete with a ridiculously ornate door. The bell hop opened the door for them, setting their bags just inside before pointing out the room service menu and whisking away back to the elevator.

They stepped cautiously into the room, just as ornate as the rest of the hotel, though thankfully done in subtler tones of grey and cream. There were two couches and several chairs in the large space, but no bed. To the right was an open door through which they could see a large, sleek white bathroom. To the left was another door, though they couldn’t see what it led to from the entrance.

“Well, let’s see what we’ve got,” John said, sighing and rubbing his head a little. He’d just wanted a nice simple room with a tv and room service, not whatever this was. He walked up to the door and stopped short, eyebrows rising almost to his hairline.

“What now?” Rodney asked before coming to a sputtering halt just behind him. “This… what… huh?”

“Yeah,” John said, looking around the room. It was decorated the same as the first room, but instead of couches and chairs there was a huge plush bed. A giant tv took up most of the space on the wall opposite the bed and a small wet bar was off to one side. “I think they gave us the honeymoon suite.”

They stood there for several moments, eyes wide as they tried to figure out why things like this kept happening to them, until John finally dissolved into laughter. He could hear Rodney huffing and saying something, but he was too distracted to listen, bent nearly double as he laughed and laughed and laughed. Finally, he came up for air, panting and wiping tears of mirth from his eyes.

Rodney eyed him, arms crossed over his chest. “Finished?” he asked snidely.

“Yeah, Rodney,” John said smiling. He reached over and thumped the other man on the back, then walked over to flop on the bed. “At least it’s comfy. And there’s room service.”

“Could be worse, I suppose,” Rodney said grumpily, shaking his head. He headed back out of the bedroom, calling over his shoulder, “I’m ordering one of everything and you’re paying.”

John was too comfortable to argue. It wasn’t like he didn’t have plenty of money anyway.

***

It was a relief to be back on Atlantis even if they’d only been gone a few weeks. They were caught up in the hustle and bustle of the city almost immediately after they arrived, but it was the good kind of chaos, far more comfortable and familiar than that on Earth. They separated as soon as they came through the gate to take care of their duties and make sure nothing major had happened. John had reports to go over from when he was gone and security concerns to be reconciled. Rodney had scientists to berate and experiments to check on.

They were so busy with catching up that they didn’t have another chance to talk until a few days later at team movie night. Well, it had started as team movie night in one of their rooms, but over the months more and more people had been invited until they’d had to move to a much larger room and it was practically an open bar with a movie playing in the background. It was still a good chance to catch up with friends and socialize outside of the everyday duties of life on Atlantis.

John came in right after the movie started. He wasn’t really sure what it was, but he didn’t care all that much. He’d seen enough movies while on Earth to last him awhile. What he really wanted was a chance to see Teyla and Ronon and the others. He wasn’t big on talking or showing feelings, but being on Earth always reminded him how good it was to have real friends.

Rodney was already talking to Teyla and Ronon by the time John grabbed a drink and made his way over to the couches. They’d chosen a quieter corner where they could talk, though they didn’t have a very good vantage point for the movie. None of them seemed overly bothered by that, so John just took a seat and tried to figure out what they were talking about.

Apparently Rodney was relating some stories from their weeks on Earth, particularly those odd times when people gave them upgrades, thinking they were a couple. Rodney seemed a little frustrated by their responses, Teyla a little confused and Ronon quietly eating popcorn from a huge bucket.

“It wasn’t so bad,” John drawled, interrupting Rodney’s very enthusiastic retelling of the incident with the ice cream at the diner. “At least you got plenty of ice cream.”

“But… but… she thought we were a couple!” Rodney exclaimed, throwing his hands up in exasperation. He looked between Teyla and Ronon. “That’s ridiculous, isn’t it? Tell me it’s ridiculous.”

Teyla shrugged, smiling cryptically. “You are John and Rodney,” she said, though that wasn’t really an answer to anything. John really hated it when she did that.

“And you?” Rodney demanded, looking at Ronon.

Ronon shrugged as well and ate another handful of popcorn. “What she said. Does it matter?”

Rodney sputtered, turning an interesting shade of red. “Of course it matters,” he grumbled. “Because we’re not and they just kept assuming like morons. I mean obviously it’s ridiculous, you’re all, you know, you,” he said, waving his hand vaguely in John’s direction. “And I’m all… me.”

John wasn’t sure exactly what Rodney meant by that, though something niggled in the back of his mind. It wasn’t the casual self-deprecation, though that certainly bothered him. But he was used to that, for someone so confident, Rodney could be surprisingly obtuse about his own romantic draw. No, there was something else there, he just wasn’t sure what.

That thought stayed with him for the rest of the evening. They didn’t end up watching much of the movie, too busy talking about what had happened on Atlantis while they were gone and Rodney telling stories about their misadventures on Earth. Carson and Radek both stopped and talked for awhile, and even Woolsey came by for a few minutes. It was nice being home.

The room emptied fairly quickly after the movie ended since most people had shifts to start in only a few minutes. John and Rodney said goodbye to Teyla and Ronon before continuing on to the hallway where their rooms were. Rodney was uncharacteristically quiet once it was just the two of them, and John began to worry that he really was upset by being mistaken for a couple while on Earth.

They stopped once they got to Rodney’s room, neither of them saying a word even though Rodney hadn’t made a move to open his door. After a few moments, John sighed and turned to go. “G’night, Rodney,” he said, unsure why he was feeling so annoyed.

“Wait!”

John turned back around to see Rodney a little flushed, fiddling with the sleeves of his shirt. “Yeah?” he asked.

“I just… I, uh,” Rodney started, hands waving about helplessly as the words seemed to refuse to come. “Can we.. that is, I…”

“Look, if this is about the thing on Earth, I’m sorry, we can just forget it,” John interrupted, sighing again. He hadn’t really seen what the big deal was, had secretly quite enjoyed it in fact, and Rodney hadn’t seemed bothered then either, but it was obviously bothering him now.

“No!” Rodney said, flushing even more when John raised an eyebrow in surprise at the outburst. “I mean, I don’t want to forget it?”

That sounded innocent enough, but John could see how much it cost Rodney to say that, so he paused for a moment to think. Rodney was bothered by the assumptions on Earth, but he didn’t want to forget it to preserve his masculinity or whatever else. Suddenly, it all came together. “Rodney,” he said slowly, a wicked grin forming on his face, “are you annoyed because you want us to be a real couple?”

Rodney gulped. “Um, yes?”

“Well, you should’ve just said so,” John said, reaching out to pull the other man into a kiss.

Rodney was obviously surprised, but he caught on quickly, kissing back with wild enthusiasm. They broke apart a few minutes later, panting, with matching grins, and John leaned forward until he could rest his forehead against Rodney’s. Their hands had wandered, John’s on Rodney’s ass and Rodney’s in John’s hair, and it was pretty much the most perfect thing John could think of.

“Wanna take this inside?” Rodney asked, jerking his head toward his room.

John smiled. “Thought you’d never ask.”

**Author's Note:**

> Concrit welcome. If you like my fic, come chat with me [on tumblr](http://voldiebuns.tumblr.com/) or maybe [buy me a coffee](http://ko-fi.com/A7274PC).


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